This is for the video you film yourself, on your phone, in a gap between jobs. It is not a production guide. It is the short list that makes the difference between footage you can use and footage you delete.
Before you record
The camera. Phone vertical. Back camera if you can, since it is the better one. Hold it at eye level or slightly above, framed from mid-chest to just above your head. Have a tidy background, or at least a deliberate one.
The light. Face a window or an open door so the light is on your face. The usual mistake is standing with the window behind you, which turns you into a silhouette.
The sound. This matters more than the picture. Find somewhere quiet, turn off anything running, and speak a little louder than feels natural.
How to open
Do not introduce yourself. Nobody watching has agreed to hear a biography yet, and the opening is the whole of whether they stay.
Start on something useful instead. A correction, a warning, or a thing people get wrong:
Openers you can reuse
One thing people get wrong about this is...
Before you do this, here is what you should know...
A lot of people assume this is simple, but...
Each of those promises the viewer something and costs you nothing.
The shape
- The hook. The first three to five seconds. A problem or a misconception, said straight to the person watching, making it obvious why it matters to them.
- The point. Answer it properly. Helpful rather than salesy, with a real example if you have one.
- The close. Softly. A useful takeaway and nothing else. No phone number, no call now, no pitch.
That last part is the one people argue with, and it is the one that works.
How long
Thirty to sixty seconds is the target. Longer is fine if the content earns it, since you can always trim.
Worth doing every time
Film one topic per video. If you have the time, do two takes and keep both: it is the cheapest way to build a library, and the second one is usually better.
What not to do
- Do not memorize a script
- Do not read off your phone
- Do not agonize over wording
- Do not wait until you can do it perfectly
Clear and genuine outperforms polished and stiff, reliably, and it is also the only version you will actually keep doing.
Before you send it
- Is it vertical?
- Can you be heard clearly?
- Did you tell them something worth knowing?
- Did you avoid selling?
If it is easy, grab a few extra clips
Five to ten seconds each, no talking. Your workspace, a finished result, somebody measuring or installing. Cutting these in gives the video somewhere to go while you keep talking, and it takes almost no extra time on site.